Integrity commissioner nominee faces scrutiny

The prospect of a new integrity commissioner being drawn from the ranks of the public service is being met with extreme skepticism from opposition MPs and accountability advocates concerned about giving rise to a second Christiane Ouimet.

Mario Dion, whose nomination to the post was announced last week, took questions Tuesday at the House’s government operations committee about his management credentials and long-term vision for the office.

“I fully appreciate the importance and the potential of the office,” Dion said. “I strongly believe in the objectives of the act.”

But the committee’s chair, NDP MP Pat Martin, had a hard time shaking the ghost of Ouimet.

“I was on the committee when Christiane Ouimet sat where you’re sitting right now, and she sounded pretty good too, and we improved her with some enthusiasm,” Martin said. “Maybe it’s just a serious mistake to appoint a former public servant.”

Dion has been at the helm of the Public Sector Integrity Commission for one year, taking over as the interim commissioner after Ouimet’s professional failures were exposed in a report from former auditor general Sheila Fraser. Dion is a lawyer by training, and spent much of his career in the justice department. He was in retirement when he heard the news about Ouimet and decided to apply for the interim role.

Over the past year, Dion has won moderate respect from accountability advocates including FAIR, Canadians for Accountability and Democracy Watch. Dion did this by meeting with them one-on-one, establishing an advisory committee that they sit on, and reopening the 226 files that Ouimet had failed to act on.

But that doesn’t mean they’re happy to see the Conservatives appoint him to the permanent role.

“Clearly he seems to be a very capable administrator, he’s very experienced, he has all those qualities. He’s doing a lot to straighten out the administration in the office,” said FAIR executive director, David Hutton. “But the overriding concern is this coziness with the public sector. In our view, he’s really part of a very tight-knit old boys club.”

Dion countered that coming from within the public service means he has a good grasp on the culture in which whistle-blowers are working.

“You understand the psychology much more than someone from the outside,” he told MPs.

But after a year’s time, the office still hasn’t pointed a finger at any wrongdoers, which critics use as further evidence that something is amiss. Dion responded Tuesday that it’s too early to pass judgement on the caseload. In addition to dealing with the backlog from Ouimet, the office has received new complaints, and there are currently 35 being investigated.

“I think, mathematically, it is quite fair to suggest something might come out in the near future,” Dion said.

NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice said he was encouraged by what he heard from Dion Tuesday.

“Mr. Dion seems to have a good public record, and we’ve been able today to get some commitments, so it was a very interesting discussion for us.”

Boulerice added his party will make a decision on whether or not to support Dion’s nomination at the Wednesday caucus meeting.